Sutil sets new undesirable record of podium-bereft run

Adrian Sutil’s miserable show at his home Grand Prix in Germany last weekend was compounded with an unwelcome statistic.

The German, eliminated in the first leg of qualifying on Saturday, started Sunday's race at Hockenheim in 15th place after penalties were applied to other drivers but failed to finish after he spun on lap 48 of 67.

It was his 119th start in Formula One, none of which led have him to the podium, breaking the undesirable record of becoming the longest running driver never to have finished on the rostrum.

It released Italian racer Pierluigi Martini from the top of that unwanted statistic.

Sutil’s best result in F1 came in 2009 when he finished fourth at the Italian GP that year, a position that he has claimed just once since his career began in 2006. He has finished fifth thrice, the last time at the Monaco GP in 2013.

What makes it worse for Sutil is that he left his former team Force India, which has been on the podium once this season, for Sauber, which is enduring its worst ever spell in F1.

Martini’s career comprised racing with backmarkers Minardi and a season with Dallara across his 11-year career spanning from 1985 to 1995.